Gavin Okeroghene Bazunu (born 20 February 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Southampton and the Republic of Ireland national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gavin Okeroghene Bazunu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-02-20) 20 February 2002 (age 20)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Shamrock Rovers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Shamrock Rovers | 4 | (0) |
| 2019–2022 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Rochdale (loan) | 29 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Portsmouth (loan) | 44 | (0) |
| 2022– | Southampton | 15 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2019 | Republic of Ireland U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019– | Republic of Ireland U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2021– | Republic of Ireland | 12 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:46, 12 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:03, 27 September 2022 (UTC) | |||
Bazunu started his career at Shamrock Rovers, making his first team debut in June 2018 at the age of 16, before joining Manchester City in February 2019. He spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Rochdale and the 2021–22 season on loan at Portsmouth.
An Irish youth international, he made his senior international debut in 2021.
Born in Dublin,[2] Bazunu was raised in the suburb of Firhouse.[3] He is of Nigerian descent.[4]
Having come through the academy at Shamrock Rovers,[5] Bazunu made his debut for Rovers' first team on 9 June 2018 in a 5–0 win at home to Bray Wanderers, at the age of 16.[2][6] Manager Stephen Bradley stated that despite not wanting to 'throw [young goalkeepers] in that early', Bazunu was 'ready' for his first-team debut.[6] He made three further appearances for Shamrock Rovers in the 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division.[2] These included a penalty save at Cork City which meant he kept four clean sheets out of four in the league.[7] Bazunu also made two appearances in the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League.[8]
On 6 September 2018, it was announced that Bazunu had joined Premier League club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee reported to be £420,000, though a joining date had not been set, with Bazunu wishing to complete his education in the Irish education system.[9][10] The following month, it was announced he has signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester City,[11] with it initially agreed he would join the club in summer 2019, before it was moved forward to February 2019.[12] He made his debut for Manchester City's under-18 side on 9 February 2019 against Stoke City U18.[12]
Bazunu was named in Manchester City's UEFA Champions League squad for a Round of 16 second leg match against Real Madrid in August 2020.[13]
He signed a contract extension with Manchester City until 2024 and joined League One side Rochdale on a season-long loan later that month.[14][15] He started and kept a clean sheet on his debut for Rochdale on 5 September 2020 in a 1–0 EFL Cup victory away to Huddersfield Town,[16] and made his first league appearance the following week in a 3–1 defeat at Swindon Town.[17]
On 1 July 2021, he moved on loan to Portsmouth for the 2021–22 season.[18][19] He was named as the club's Players' Player and Player of the Season.[20]
On 17 June 2022, Bazunu joined Southampton on a five-year contract[21] for a reported fee of £12 million.[22]
Bazunu has played for the Republic of Ireland at under-17 and under-21 youth levels.[2][23]
In March 2021, he was called into the senior Republic of Ireland team for the first time, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[24] He made his senior debut in a 1–0 defeat on 27 March 2021 against Luxembourg.[25]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Shamrock Rovers | 2018 | League of Ireland Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Manchester City | 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rochdale (loan) | 2020–21 | League One | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Portsmouth (loan) | 2021–22 | League One | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| Southampton | 2022–23[26] | Premier League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Career total | 92 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 0 | |
Individual
Southampton F.C. – current squad | |
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Awards | |||||
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